Dangers House Pet Chickens Face
If you have a house pet chicken or are planning on getting one you need to see the hidden dangers in your house that could harm your pet chicken.
Chickens (particularly Bantams) make great house pets if you only have one or two but there are things you need to do to protect your house pet chicken-hidden dangers in your house that may seem harmless to you. Here is a list of things to look out for:
Open toilet lids
If allowed to freely roam your house your pet chicken may try to jump up on the toilet. One day I came home from work to find Ozzie my pet rooster missing. "I looked everywhere and could not find him, I looked indoors and outdoors and Ozzie was nowhere to be found. I got on the phone to call someone to come help me look for him, panic over took me as I screamed his name and yet he did not come. He always meets me at the door when I arrive home from work. I went to use the bathroom and had I not looked down I wouldn't have seen the young roo stranded in the toilet. He was chest deep in toilet water and could not get out! If it had been cold or if he had landed head first, Ozzie would have been no more. He was freezing cold, I had to dry him with a blow dryer on low to get him dry as fast as possible. He acted listless for two days but then made a full recovery. Be sure to keep your toilet lids closed and bathroom doors shut-one mistake and you could lose your pet chicken.".--Motherhen
Make sure baby chicks are put up when doing dishes
It only takes a second for a baby chick to jump into your dishpan. Baby chicks will die quickly if they get wet and cold.
Pans on the stove
Any container with water or other fluids in it can be a danger to your chickens if it is large enough for them to jump into and if it is other fluids they could be poisonous to your chickens.
Buckets, bowls, boxes and baskets
Pet chickens like to perch on things and all to often they will try to perch on something such as buckets, bowls, boxes, or baskets which can topple over and trap the bird underneath.
Holes in walls or floors
Missing floor vents
Mouse traps or sticky traps
Rodent or insect poisons
Insecticides
Poisonous houseplants
Spilled cleaning supplies
Cooking on Teflon coated pans
Teflon coated pans and baking pans give off fumes that are toxic to chickens.
Other Pets
If you have other pets it is best to keep your chickens confined to a chicken coop with a covered secure run. Other pets may injure or kill your bird either by accident or by a natural hunting instinct that takes over during play.
Getting stepped on by humans
Reclining Chairs
Chickens and other small pets like to hide in dark places and playing or sleeping underneath a reclining chair can cause severe injury or death when a person sits down or gets up from the chair. A heartbreaking experience for the pet and the owner.
It is always best to keep your chickens in a safe chicken house outdoors with a good sized, safe covered run. Keeping chickens indoors can cause respiratory problems for people and deprives the bird of fresh air, sunshine, bug hunting, and dirt baths..all of which are things that make chickens very happy. If you have to bring your chicken indoors due to sickness, severe weather or violent predators you should not keep them in areas where you eat or sleep and never keep a pet chicken or bird in a child's bedroom. The birds and their indoor coop should be kept clean and dry at all times. Make sure to wash your hands and change clothing after handling your birds. Keep in mind that the same predators that break into chicken coops to try to kill your chickens can also get into your home. I'll tell you a little story of what happened to me. I had a couple sick chickens I needed to separate from my flock and brought them into my home and put them in large pet cages in an empty spare bedroom. One night I woke to the strong odor of skunk so I went to check on the birds. I was shocked to see a skunk trying to squeeze into a hole he had tore into the floor next to an air conditioning vent on the floor. Had I not come into the room when I did who knows what would have happened to my poor chickens. I secured the area around the vent with tin and the next day I built a new "hospital coop" for sick birds and put tin on the wood floors, walls and ceiling, inside and out.
Open toilet lids
If allowed to freely roam your house your pet chicken may try to jump up on the toilet. One day I came home from work to find Ozzie my pet rooster missing. "I looked everywhere and could not find him, I looked indoors and outdoors and Ozzie was nowhere to be found. I got on the phone to call someone to come help me look for him, panic over took me as I screamed his name and yet he did not come. He always meets me at the door when I arrive home from work. I went to use the bathroom and had I not looked down I wouldn't have seen the young roo stranded in the toilet. He was chest deep in toilet water and could not get out! If it had been cold or if he had landed head first, Ozzie would have been no more. He was freezing cold, I had to dry him with a blow dryer on low to get him dry as fast as possible. He acted listless for two days but then made a full recovery. Be sure to keep your toilet lids closed and bathroom doors shut-one mistake and you could lose your pet chicken.".--Motherhen
Make sure baby chicks are put up when doing dishes
It only takes a second for a baby chick to jump into your dishpan. Baby chicks will die quickly if they get wet and cold.
Pans on the stove
Any container with water or other fluids in it can be a danger to your chickens if it is large enough for them to jump into and if it is other fluids they could be poisonous to your chickens.
Buckets, bowls, boxes and baskets
Pet chickens like to perch on things and all to often they will try to perch on something such as buckets, bowls, boxes, or baskets which can topple over and trap the bird underneath.
Holes in walls or floors
Missing floor vents
Mouse traps or sticky traps
Rodent or insect poisons
Insecticides
Poisonous houseplants
Spilled cleaning supplies
Cooking on Teflon coated pans
Teflon coated pans and baking pans give off fumes that are toxic to chickens.
Other Pets
If you have other pets it is best to keep your chickens confined to a chicken coop with a covered secure run. Other pets may injure or kill your bird either by accident or by a natural hunting instinct that takes over during play.
Getting stepped on by humans
Reclining Chairs
Chickens and other small pets like to hide in dark places and playing or sleeping underneath a reclining chair can cause severe injury or death when a person sits down or gets up from the chair. A heartbreaking experience for the pet and the owner.
It is always best to keep your chickens in a safe chicken house outdoors with a good sized, safe covered run. Keeping chickens indoors can cause respiratory problems for people and deprives the bird of fresh air, sunshine, bug hunting, and dirt baths..all of which are things that make chickens very happy. If you have to bring your chicken indoors due to sickness, severe weather or violent predators you should not keep them in areas where you eat or sleep and never keep a pet chicken or bird in a child's bedroom. The birds and their indoor coop should be kept clean and dry at all times. Make sure to wash your hands and change clothing after handling your birds. Keep in mind that the same predators that break into chicken coops to try to kill your chickens can also get into your home. I'll tell you a little story of what happened to me. I had a couple sick chickens I needed to separate from my flock and brought them into my home and put them in large pet cages in an empty spare bedroom. One night I woke to the strong odor of skunk so I went to check on the birds. I was shocked to see a skunk trying to squeeze into a hole he had tore into the floor next to an air conditioning vent on the floor. Had I not come into the room when I did who knows what would have happened to my poor chickens. I secured the area around the vent with tin and the next day I built a new "hospital coop" for sick birds and put tin on the wood floors, walls and ceiling, inside and out.
